Rep. Todd Rock's child protection bill passes House

HARRISBURG - A bill authored by Rep. Todd Rock, R-Mont Alto, that would enhance penalties for adults who physically attack or harm minors passed the House of Representatives unanimously.

The measure, House Bill 350, was drafted by Rock based on the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection that was created by the General Assembly in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal.

If signed into law, anyone 18 years or older who causes bodily injury to a child under the age of 12 could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor. In addition, a first-degree felony charge could be brought if an adult attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes serious bodily injury to a child under the age of 12. Another section of the bill provides for even further criminal charges and penalties if the child is under the age of 4.

"The Sandusky scandal at Penn State was greatly disturbing to me as well as millions of Americans," Rock said in a statement. "Parents must be confident that when they place their children in the care of others their children will return home unharmed. By raising the penalties for harming children, as this legislation would do, we are giving law enforcement the tools they need to remove from our communities those who would harm our children."

In the last session of the General Assembly, Rock strongly supported legislation to close loopholes in federal and state laws which require convicted sexual offenders to register the address of where they live for the safety of others in the community.

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During that session, lawmakers also created the Task Force on Child Protection, which was comprised of educators, social workers, attorneys and judges.

The recommendations of the task force were delivered in November and lawmakers in the House have taken the lead in reviewing that report to draft and pass additional child protection laws in the 2013-14 legislative session.